Door.



C. T. DAWES.

DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, 1913.

L1 84,725@ Patented May 30, 1916.

- I @Q g I I lfhll@ CLAUDE 'I'. D'AWES, OF JOI-INSTOWN, NEW YORK.

Application filed February 5, 1913. Serial No. 746,278.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be itvknown that I, CLAUDE T. DAWES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Johnstown, in the county of Fulton and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors, of which thefollowing is a full,- clear, and

Xact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to doors, and with regard to certain morespecific features, to an easily operated structure adapted at will toexclude wind, rain, snow, dust, noise, and heat or cold, or to provideat a `moments notice a completely unobstructed passageway.

One object within the contemplation of this invention is to provide asafe, durable and compact door in which the weatherproof qualities ofthe ordinary revolving door are retained without the many obviousdisadvantages and dangers attendant upon the use of such a door. f

Another object -is to provide an ineX- -pensive and easily constructedinstrumentality of the specified nature for positively and effectivelyinsulating the interior of a building or other structure from thevarious inclement conditions of weather and noise that may exist on theoutside of the building.

Another object is to provide an arrangement of parts whereby at anyadded time and without any labor on the part of any one, the structuremay be transformed from a weather-proof door to one permitting thepassage therethrough of a continuous stream of people.

Another object within the scope of the jrnijnvention' is to provide asimple and effi* cient checking mechanism adapted during normaloperation to prevent the movement of a door member beyond apredetermined position, but yieldable upon pressure to allow the doormember to swing beyond the ordinary limit of its travel so that in caseof fire or panic, a door used normally for entrance only may beinstantly made`eifective as an exit.

11j Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction here Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3U, 1916.

inafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will beindicated in the following claims.

Figure l is a horizontal'section on the line a-a, Fig. 2, of one ofvarious possible embodiments of the several features of the invention;Fig. 2 is an elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow Fig. l,the doormembers occupying the dotted-line positions, Fig. l, and partsbeing removed to show more clearly the interior structure; and Fig. 3 isan elevation on a larger scale of a preferred form of checkingmechanism. i Similar reference characters refer to similar partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of the advantageous resultsgained by the features and combinations of features hereinafterenumerated, it may be stated that there has long been need of a safe,convenient and easily operated door which would be substantially weatherand noiseproof during normal use and at the same time be capable ofsacrificing some or all of its protective qualities whenever occasionrequires. The common revolving door and other known types if designed tobe insulators of heat and noise at all during normal use cannot beinstantaneously converted into an unobstructed means of ingress as wellas egress for a continuous stream of people, and as a result, such adoor instead of accommodating crowds .when necessary, constitutes intime of fire or other emergency a barrier all the more dangerous becauseof its apparent availability as an exit. rlhese and other -disadvantagesof the known weather and noise proof doors are obviated by the presentinvention.

Referring now4 more particularly to Fig. l of the drawings, there isillustrated in the walls l of a building or other structure,

i be necessary to describe in detail only one i' fis-shown at 4 aV doormember hingedas at 5 Azontal section conforms to the to the verticalwall or partition 6 extending from the floor (not shown) to the ceiling7.

l The' partition 6, floor and ceiling 7 may be,

rand theyy preferably are, temporary structures adapted to be removed ifat any time it Yis desirable to have an aperture in the buildinglargerlthan that provided Vby the passageways in the halves 2, 3. Asecond swingingV door member 8 is hinged as at 9 to the samewall orVpartition -6 and swings within the 'arcuate wall or partition 10,preferably also a temporary structure, from a position of restagainstthe stop`11 to a position as far as need berbeyond the inner lend12 of'said arcuate partition 10. fA

similar partition 13 also arcuate in horipath described yby the outerend 14 of the first door member 4 in its movement from a position ofrest against the stop 15 to the intersection'at 16 of said path with thefirst mentioned Vcurved partition 10.V

As will be obvious from the description already given, the customer orother person enters the'building from the street by pushing inward thefirst door member 4 as far as necessary beyond the-k dotted-lineyposition 17 and then, pushing the second door vmember 8counterclockwise to a point beyond the Y endV 12 of the partition 10,enters the store or other building. rlhe angle 18 subtended at the aXis9 by the effective portion of partition 10 `may be varied within widelimits,

as can many other dimensions and relative sizes of the `several parts ofthe structure,

but ll prefer to have this angle and the ratio of width of the seconddoor member 8 vto the first door member 4 sufficiently large so thateven with two or three customers entering at once, the first door member4 Vwill have swung clockwise to a point beyond the position 17beforeithe second door member 8 opens,-that is, before the second memberpasses the end'12 ofthe partition 10.v In this way 'there is at no timea direct way open between the street and the interior of Y the building;

YNow, if afcustomer should push in the Y first door member 4 after ithas returned clockwise beyond the line 17, but before the previouscustomer has allowed the second door member 8 to close e., to returnbeyondthe line `19) as by the spring hinge, not

shown, another feature of the invention is brought into operation. Thiscomprises a substantiallyV horizontal rod`20 suspended as at 21 from a'raised portion 22.0f'the horizontal partition or ceiling 7 fimmediately above the door members. placed just below the end 23 of therod 20 farthest from the first door member 4, is an Secured to, or.

arcuate strip 24 suspended from another the main body of the strip 24,raising thereby the end 23 of the rod 20 and depressing the other end 27of said rod. The hinged extension 28 of said rod is by this operation`lowered sufficiently from its normal raised position against the stop29 in the ceiling l7 to engage the first door member 4 near the topthereof and prevent the counter-cloni wise movement of said door memberbeyond the line 17 until the second door member 8 has swung clockwise toa position within the arcuate partition v10. rlhis, as will be obvious,prevents any direct draft of air from entering the building when onecustomer attempts to enter the building before the previous customer hasallowed the second door member 8 to close. The rod 20, for obviousreasons, is substantially perpendicular to the line 17 and is so hungthat its extension 28 is normally raised slightly above the top of thefirst door member, as by contacting with the stop 29. In order that thefirst door member may close in case it happens to be open when theextension 28 of the rod 20 is depressed, said extension is hinged asshown at 30 to swing upward fiom a stopBl projecting from the rod 20.The first door member 4 is engaged by the rod 20 at the position 17instead of at its position of rest, first, because there is no need oflocking the door member until it is about to open, and, second, so thata person unaccustoiiied to the door, who pushes the first door membersome distance (to the line 17 and suddenly finds it blocked, is lessliable to think the store is locked than if the door member refused tomove at all in the first place; consequently such a person seeingthrough the glass 32 in the first door member4 someone entering ahead ofhim, waits momentarily, for he knows that he ought to get in if hispredecessor has, tries again and succeeds, the block meanwhile havingbeen removed by the closing of the second door member 8 beyond the end12 of the partition 11.

So much for the ordinary operation of the door. Now, if as frequentlyhappens, a number of customers wish to enter the store in rapidsuccession, it is not necessary as in the case of the common revolvingdoor, for each one or two customers to wait until the door has gonethrough a delinite portion of its cycle of operations, for it will beobvious by reference to the drawings, that in such a case the doorcomprised in the present invention acts simply as two serially arrangeddoor members affording an uninterrupted passageway from the street tothe interior of the building. It is true that this sacrifices for themoment some of the heat and noise insulating properties of the door, buta merchant would willingly submit to an occasional gust of cold air forthe sake of having a stream of customers enter his store without delay;and in the case of the exit doors the present arrangement, allowing anunobstructed passageway, if desired, has additional obvious advantagesin case of fire or panic.

The two similar checking mechanisms il, 15 may be of any approved type,but I prefer to use the mechanism described below, which will normallystop the movement of the door member at a predetermined position butwhich, upon pressure, will yield and allow the door member to be swungbeyond the customary limit of its travel, whereby, for example, a doordesigned for customers entering a store may be instantly available ifnecessary as an eXit.

Referring now to Fig. 3, wherein is illustrated on a larger scale theconstruction of the checking mechanism l5, there is shown at 33 a bar orbeam forming part of, or suitably secured to, and parallel with theceiling partition 7 hinged as at 34 to said bar is the depending element35 adapted as by the longitudinal groove 36 and clamping device 37 tohold adjustably the stop 38, the three parts 33, 35 and 38 beingpreferably constructed of iron. The first door member 4 after beingpushed inward by the customer returns under the force exerted by springhinges or other .suitable means, indicated at 39, Fig. l, to the stop 38where its motion is ordinarily arrested by virtue of the pressure uponthe top of the supporting element 35 of a strong leaf spring 40 securedto the bar 33 as by the screws 4l and bearing on the upper surface ofthe depending element 35 with a pressure adjustable by means of theset-screw 42. If, however, the door member 4 is pressed or pushedagainst the stop 38 with a force somewhat greater than that due to thespring hinges 39, the leaf spring 40 will yield and allow the doormember' 4 to swing the stop 38 about the horizontal pivot at 34 untilthe top of the door member passes beyond the lower end of the stop 38,after which time the door member may be freely moved until limited bysome other agency, such as the angular range of the hinges 39. The workrequired in pushing the door member 4 past the stop 38 may be readilyadjusted by tightening or loosening the set-screw 42 preferably bymoving the stop 38 up or down with respect to the clamping device 37 inthe supporting element 35. rlhe parts are preferably so proportionedthat the stop 38 if raised up into the groove 3G will be clear of thetop of the door member 4. As the checking mechanism ll is constructed inthe same way and operates similarly to the checking mechanism l5 abovedescribed, it is considered unnecessary to describe or illustrate indetail the former. Nor is it necessary to explain that this checkingmechanism has a wide range of usefulness not limited to any particularconstruction of door or other closure.

When, as in the summer-time, or in moving furniture, the door members 4and 8 are to be held out of the way, it is simply necessary to swing thefirst door member 4 inward to a position against the vertical partitionG and to move the second door member 8 past the checking mechanism ll(after raising the stop 38 therein up out of the way of the door member8) until the door member 8 stands adjacent and substantially parallel tothe first door member 4, where it may be retained in position by anysuitable device, leaving an entirely open passageway as indicated in thehalf 3, Fig. l. This change can, of course, be done in a moment at anytime by anyone and the door members may be returned just as easily too-perative position.

In case of fire or panic, or if for any reason the half 2, which isnormally used for entrance, is needed as an eXit, it is only necessarythat the person first passing outward through the half 2 push the seconddoor member 8 sufficiently to overcome the opposition of the checkingmechanism 11 and then swing outward the first door member 4 in a similarmanner by forcing this door member past the device 15. From this it willbe seen that the door may be instantly converted into an unobstructedpassageway available for travel in the direction opposite to the normaldirection of travel therethrough, thus facilitating the emptying of acrowded building.

From the foregoing description and without further elaboration, it willbe clear that there is provided apparatus in which the several objectsof this invention are achieved and in which the above and otheradvantages are obtained.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying draw-'ings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understoodthat Vthe language used in the followingclaimsY is intended to cover. all of the generic and spez cific featuresof the invention herein described and all statements of the scopeof 'Ythe invention, which, as a matter ofv language,might bev said to falltherebetween.

HavingY described my invention, what I.

claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is c 1. In a deviceof the character described,

i in combination, a casing having open ends,

n a door member openable toward one of said open ends, aV second doormember openable j, towardthe same open end, and means under the controlof said second door member effective to allow a certain range ofmovement of said first door member when said second door member isopened, but limiting the movement of said first door member to such anamount as will prevent a person from passing` by the same at such atime.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, a casinghaving top and "f side walls, a partition member intermediate said sidewalls, a doormember hinged to one Yedge of v-said partition member andadapted toy engage one of said side walls throughoutl a portion of itspath of move- Y ment, a second door memberhinged to said partitionmember at substantially the center thereof and adapted to engage saidside Copies of this patent may be obtained ,for

wall throughout a portion of its path of movement, means controlled bysaid second door member near its limit of movement to allow a certainrange of movement of said first door member, but limiting said movementto such an amount as will prevent a person from passing by said firstdoor mem- 3. In aV device of the character described, in combination, acasing having top and side walls, a partition member intermediate saidside walls, a door Wing hinged to one edge of said partition member andadapted to engage one of said side Walls throughout a portion of itspath of movement, a second door wing pivoted on said partition member atsubstantially the center thereof, and adapted to engage said side wallthroughout a portion of its path of movement, a member mounted upon saidcasing and adapted to be engaged by said second door Wing near its limitof movement, mechanism associated with said member, and a deviceactuated by said mechanism for limiting the movement of said first doorwing when said second door Wing engages said member.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature, in the presence of twoWitnesses.

CLAUDE 'I`. DAV

Witnesses:

JEREMIAH Knoi, i F. CUTHELL CALDERWooD.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,D. C.

